advices in studying nursing in Australia

Happy Wombat · Feb 10, 2014

The nursing program will take you 3 years. (I heard it was going to change to 4 years, but it is just a hear say, nothing solid.) And as an international student that is not in from any of the English speaking country, you will need to meet the English requirements to get your registration.

The graduate programs tend to be given to local graduates first before international graduates. So you will need to prove yourself to be good in order to get the job.

The new grads this year told me that even though around 90% (NSW) of their classmates got into a graduate program, many of them had to grab whatever they were allocated. (The unpopular ones such as rural.)

These are a few advice if you are still keen on going ahead with the course.

1) Start taking English tests during your 2nd year undergraduate. It helps in facilitating the application of your nursing practising cert and visa. Should you fail, the first attempt, it helps you gauge your standard of English and allows you more time to improve.

2) Work as an AIN during your 2nd year in healthcare facilities/hospitals. It will allow you to socialize with the staffs there and some of them can even be your references. (My friend was offered a job in an age care facility before she even graduate and was an international student.)

3) Learn as much as you can during your placement in the healthcare facilities/hospitals. The experience will prove valuable when you graduate. Don't just go there for the sake of fulfilling the requirement.

4) Socialize with the locals in English and build up your self confident. It helps in the interview.

5) Apply for as many programs as possible. Getting to choose from 2 or 3 offers is better than to pin all your hopes in 1 program.

zuiqingfeng · Feb 11, 2014

thank you so much for your reply,the information given is helpful.

so the most important is to get into new grad year?

ceridwyn · Feb 11, 2014

This year was extremely difficult for new grads, in Victoria, citizens, completed whole degree in Australia, apparently 1 in 3 applicants have found graduate postions.

Many in my students from my mentoring cohort (Deakin, RMIT, Monash tell me, that , international students in their cohorts are yet to find work, then I suppose they have 2 years to find something, thats the plan! but it will not be easy. Try BUPA they take on international graduates and Ramsay.

suga_junkie, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2014

The nursing market in Western Aust is also terrible at the moment. Many locals missed out on grad programs so international students have next to no hope in getting one. The hospitals must offer permanent residents jobs first. It is pretty much impossible to get a job in a hospital without a grad program.

zuiqingfeng · Feb 11, 2014

This year was extremely difficult for new grads, in Victoria, citizens, completed whole degree in Australia, apparently 1 in 3 applicants have found graduate postions.
Many in my students from my mentoring cohort (Deakin, RMIT, Monash tell me, that , international students in their cohorts are yet to find work, then I suppose they have 2 years to find something, thats the plan! but it will not be easy. Try BUPA they take on international graduates and Ramsay.

yes,i found there are a lot of complains about can't getting into a grad year program,for the international students seems even harder.

what's the reason so many graduates can't get a position?because too many students choose set foot in this profession?

GE90 · Feb 11, 2014

damn...my uni result is not good....guess there is no hope for me to get into any grad programs...sigh..

ceridwyn · Feb 11, 2014

This is my look at the profession, they talk about cutbacks in numbers for grad programs, blah blah.

Australia is taking massive recruitment for the past 3-4 years of nurses from overseas to fill vacant experienced positions, most positions are now full. This takes a follow on down to grad programs, as before even with no experience, employers were willing to train/educate anyone with an RN status as RN's were in short supply.

Also some of the overseas workforce do not tend to leave positions for family leave etc, as they are the bread winners hence no new vacancies regularly happening to fill family leave. Many, many of new overseas nurses are male. Locals are not leaving their jobs neither due to no jobs, high cost of living, unknown future, partners loosing jobs.

That is the same for the UK and USA. Jobs for experienced get filled, no jobs for graduates. Things get bad, locals are not so transient with work, hold onto what they have.

Employers here, tend to think it is easier to sponsor from overseas than to train/educate a local nurse...and this effects international students as well!!

Please no one to take offence, without migration there was a worrying shortage, a threat to health care in Australia, for the moment that is well and truly no shortage, until us oldies, pop our clogs, apparently or retire and for most of us because of the cost of living and superannuation will not cover it, God willing we still have 15-20 years left in us.

iamnomad · Feb 11, 2014

I have been visiting NSW Health's website since at least August 2013. It's very rare that I see vacancies that can accommodate new grads. Most of the ads require some sort of experience before they consider you. You'll see this under "selection criteria" and you need to demonstrate your expertise through your experience and/or other qualifications.

I'm from Wollongong area and there are very very few vacancies here and it's mostly mental health and aged care.